Wheel-plow



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

/ W. H. MELDER.

WHEEL PLOW.

No. 436,985. Patented Sept. 23. 1890.'

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. MELDER.

WHEEL PLOW.

No. 436,985. Patented Sept. z3, 1890.

UNITEDv STATES WILHELM H. MELDER, OF FUSSVILLE, WISCONSIN.

WH EELf-PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,985, datedSeptember 23, 1890.

Application filed J' uly l2, 1890. Serial No. 358,534. (No model.)

` of Fussville, in the county of Waukesha, and

in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Vheel- Flows; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to wheel-plows; andA it consists in certainpeculiarities of construction and combination of parts to be hereinafterdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequentlyclaimed.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a side elevation of Iny plow partlyin section; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same partly in horizontalsection, and Fig. 3 a detail sectional view on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A represents a beam having abifurcated rear end strengthened by braces B C, these braces beingconnected to the furcations D of said beam. The front end of the beam Ais provided with a vertical eye b, vthat engages a post E, extended upfrom an axle F for front wheels G, and a cranked axleE for rear wheels Ihas cylindrical portions c, (best shown in Fig. 3,) loosely tted inbearings d, connected to the furcations D of said beam. Loose on thepost E, at the opposite ends of the beameye b, are the furcations e of aclevis J, the latter being provided with the usualwhifiietree-connection K, and a right-angled rod L is passed through theclevis to connect the reduced upper end f of the post with a yoke M,that is rigidly secured to the front axle G, this construction beingbest illustrated in Fig. l. Slipped onto the reduced upper end f of thepost E, against the horizontal arm g of the right-angle rod L, is-aswivel N, the latter being held in place by a nut h, as is also shown inFig. 1. Connected to the swivel N is the forward end of a chain O, thatpasses under a pulley P, the latter serving as a guide for the chain andhaving its bearings 1l on the beam A; The rear end of the chain isadjustably connected to a hook j on a yoke Q, that has its ends 7cslipped onto lateral lugs fm of a box R and held in place by nuts nscrew-threaded on said lugs. The box R is supported at the desiredelevation by means of brackets S, slipped onto the lugs m of said boxand clipped to the rear axle H above described. v

' Pivotally connected to a clip T, extended up from the rear portion ofthe beam A, is a yoke U, terminated at its rear end in a screwthreadedsleeve V for engagement with the screw-threaded forward end of a shaftIV, that has its bearings in the box R and is provided with a crank X atits rear end. The shaft W is also provided with a collar Y, arrangedwithin the box R, and the pressure of the collar against said box causesthe cranked rear axle to turn in its bearings when said shaft isactuated, this turning of said axle being due to the leverage of thebrackets S clipped thereto. As shown, a plow Z is attached to the beam Aand each furcation thereof; but the number and arrangement of the plowsmay be Varied without departure from Vthe spirit of my invention.

When the chain O has its rear link connected to the hook j on the yokeQ, the beam A will always stand horizontal, as shown in Fig. 1,regardless of the elevation; but if said chain be shortened withrelation to said yoke said beam will stand at more or less of an angleto a horizontal plane, and thus the plows Z maybe set to assume thedesired angle to the ground. By turning the crank X the chain O isactuated to raise or lower the beam A, and thus the cut of the plows maybe readily regulated as to depth. This is of particular advantage,because it permits the plowman to set his plows at any time to suitvariations in the quality of the soil being worked upon, it beingdesirable to plow deeper in hard soil than in soft.

As shown in Fig. 1, the plows Z are clear of the ground, and the wholedevice may be readily drawn from one place to another. Now, to set theplows, the shaft W is turned by its crank X in the proper direction, andthus the eye Z9 of the beam A will move down on the post E in proportionas the cranked rear axle H is turned in its bearings, this turning ofsaid axle being due to the leverage of thebrackets S and the pressure ofthe collar Y on said shaft, as above described.

By having the clevis .I engaged with the IOO rod L that connects thepost E and the yoke M on the front axle F, said post and axle may beturned in either direction to guide the plow.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of a bea-1n having one or more plows secured theretoand provided at its front end with an eye, a front axle earrying Wheelsand provided with a post extended through the beam-eye, a cranked rearaxle carrying wheels and loosely arranged in bearings on the beam,brackets rigidly secured to the rear axle, a box having lugs engagingthe brackets, a screw-threaded shaft having its bearings in the box andprovided with a collar inclosed Within said box, a yoke having its endsconnected to said lugs, a ilexible device connecting the yoke andfront-axle post, a guide on the beam for the flexible device, anotheryoke pivotally connected to said beam, and a screw-threaded sleeve onthe latter yoke in engagement with said shaft, substantially as setforth.

2. The combination of front and rear axles, wheels arranged on theaxles, a post extended up from the front axle, a vertically-adj ustablebeam engaging the post, a clevis having furcations loose on said post onopposite sides of the beam, a rod extended through the clevis, and theends of this rod secured to said front axle and post, substantially asset forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, atMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Visconsin, in thepresence of two Witnesses.

VILIIELM II. MELDER. Witnesses:

N. E. OLIPHANT, WM. KLUG.

